Get to know the 'enemy' - spotlight on Pakistan stars

PAKISTAN has not won a Test series in Australia and has not tasted victory in a match here since 1995.

Coached by former Australian mentor Mickey Arthur, this current side, which held the No.1 Test ranking for a short while earlier in the year, has the best chance of improving that record.

Here we look at the players key to the team's chances of victory.

MISBAH-UL-HAQ

Age: 42. Tests: 69

Test batting average: 47.79

The Pakistan captain might be the oldest current player in Test cricket but Australia knows what he can do. He still holds the record for the fastest Test 50 (21 balls). That came against Australia in 2014. He went on in that innings to equal Sir Vivian Richards' record of 56 balls for a Test century, which was subsequently reduced to 54 balls by Brendon McCullum against the Aussies in February.

AZHAR ALI

Age: 31. Tests: 54

Test batting average: 45.27

He obviously likes day-night Test cricket, which will be a boost for the tourists in Brisbane. He became the first player to score a triple century under lights when hitting 302 in the pink-ball clash against the West Indies in October. Pakistan's one-day captain is also the Test vice-captain and has averaged 55 since the start of last year.

YOUNIS KHAN

Age: 39. Tests: 112

Test batting average: 52.89

The veteran has shown no signs of slowing up after becoming the highest run scorer in Tests for his country, with 9663. Against Australia in 2014 in the UAE, Khan scored centuries in both innings of a 221-run victory in Dubai before hitting 213 as the home team won by 356 runs in Abu Dhabi. Has averaged more than 50 in Tests for the past two years.

MOHAMMAD AMIR

Age: 24. Tests: 22

Test bowling average: 31.89

The left-arm quick is better known for serving jail time during a five-year ban from the game for spot fixing but has returned to cricket as good as he was when he first came into the game as a 17-year-old. On his return he has claimed 25 wickets in eight Tests. He swings the ball at pace and could prove a real danger in the pink-ball Test particularly.

YASIR SHAH

Age: 30. Tests: 20

Test bowling average: 27.89

Australia already knows of Yasir Shah's prowess after he took seven wickets in his Test debut against the Aussies in 2014 in Dubai. The cousin of Australian spinner Fawad Ahmed has already been compared to Shane Warne after claiming his 50th wicket in fewer Tests than any other Pakistani, before being the second-fastest to 100 scalps in the history of the five-day game. After taking 40 wickets in eight Tests this year, Shah has struggled with a back injury for the first part of this tour.